2021-22 United States winter storm season
The 2021-22 United States winter storm season was one of the most expensive seasons ever, just following the 2015-16 season as the costliest on record. The strongest storm of the season by snowfall was Winter Storm Ferus, which dumped more than 76" of snow in the Rocky Mountains, which was the third most on record, behind Winter Storm Bozeman and Winter Storm Jupiter. The strongest storm by pressure was Winter Storm Petros, which "bombed out" off the coast of New England, reaching a low pressure of 953 mbar before moving off into Atlantic Canada. A list of winter storm records and data is here. Storms Winter Storm Ajax On October 29, a low pressure system formed off the coast of Alaska, reaching a peak pressure of 941 mbar before weakening significantly near the coast of British Columbia on October 30. The system made landfall in Washington State, where snow totals of at least 17" fell in the Cascade Mountains. In Spokane, the storm caused minor snowfall, where only 4" of snow fell. On October 31, winter storm warnings were in effect for over two million people, which automatically caused the storm to be designated as Winter Storm Ajax by The Weather Channel. Ajax stalled over the Northern Rockies as it continued to dump snow. Ajax also brought ice with it. I-25 in Wyoming was closed for a 30-mile stretch due to low visibility and ice. According to the Wyoming Transportation Department, the state also closed US Route 26 from Riverton to Casper due to the same situation. A top snowfall total of 23" was recorded near Moose, Wyoming. Northern Colorado received little snow from the system, as a top snowfall total of 6" was recorded there. Some snow fell in Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, and North Dakota with a total of 13" topping out near Imogene, South Dakota. The storm began to fizzle out on the evening of November 1, with some snow still spitting out near Bismarck, North Dakota. On the morning of November 2, the storm exited the United States and dissipated in Manitoba later that day. Winter Storm Bella Winter Storm Bella formed on November 26. Bella brought snow to parts of the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and Appalachians. Bella also brought strong to locally damaging winds farther east across portions of New England and the interior Northeast. Bella brought snow to parts of the southern Plains and Midwest. In parts of the Northeast, unseasonably mild temperatures were experienced on the warm side of Bella. Instead of snow, these areas saw primarily rain. The rain also pushed the first occurrence of snow this season even deeper into winter than usual, in some cases into record territory, for some locations. A maximum wind gust of 71 mph was recorded from Bella. Bella dissipated on November 27. Winter Storm Cara Winter Storm Cara formed on November 30. Cara produced mainly light accumulations of snow and ice across portions of the Midwest and interior Northeast. Once it reached the Northeast, Cara's center of low pressure wrapped up off the coast of Cape Cod and south of Nova Scotia. While the surface low wasn't nearly as strong as Winter Storm Petros's later in the season, this offshore low wrung out an area of heavy snow on its northwest flank over parts of northern New England, particularly over the state of Maine. During the height of the storm, winds gusting up to 40 mph reduced visibility, and drifting snow added to the dangerous travel conditions in the area. Cara dissipated on December 4. Winter Storm Delphi Winter Storm Delphi formed on December 5. This fast-moving system prompted winter storm warnings, and advisories for parts of 22 states from Washington all the way to New Jersey, as well as the District of Columbia. Bands of snow snarled the morning commute in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore metro areas. As much as 4 inches of snow blanketed the U.S. Capitol grounds, the first 1-inch-plus snow of the season there. Karo, Virginia, about a two-hour drive west of the Nation's Capital, picked up 6 inches of snow. Meanwhile Oakland, in western Maryland, measured 8 inches of snow. Official totals at the major East Coast airport sites included 4.2 inches at Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia; 2.4 inches at Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C.; 2.3 inches at BWI Airport near Baltimore; and 1.0 inch at Philadelphia International Airport, the season's first 1-inch snow there. Numerous accidents occurred in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, where the top snowfall totals were 4.2 inches in Farmington and 7 inches in Elkins, respectively. Snow also fell in the New York City area. Parts of New Jersey were also blanketed in a thin layer of snow, with just over an inch in Atlantic City and other parts of South Jersey. Three people were killed in car accidents in New Jersey. A total of 45.1" of snow fell in Wyoming. Delphi dissipated on December 12. Winter Storm Echo On December 10, a low pressure system formed in the Gulf of Mexico, bringing minor snowfall totals to the South. The storm, however, brought more ice than snow, and was named Echo by The Weather Channel on the same day. From December 11-12, snowfall totals reached 3-5" in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, the Carolinas, and Georgia, with more snow in higher elevations. In Atlanta, 1" of freezing rain was reported, causing major roadway disasters. In Georgia alone, 17 people died from traffic collisions and/or run-offs. Echo dissipated on December 12, and moved out to sea, where it became a very powerful extra-tropical system. Winter Storm Ferus Winter Storm Ferus was named due to the clear expectation that the area criteria (winter storm warnings for 400,000 square kilometers) would be exceeded in the northern Plains and northern Rockies. Winter Storm Ferus dropped into the northwestern United States on December 23 as a strong mid- to upper-level jet stream disturbance. This disturbance crossed the northern and central Rockies the following day before becoming a strong surface low-pressure system in Kansas and Nebraska on December 24. The sluggish, strong low-pressure system continued to batter the Midwest and central Plains without much eastward progression. Strong winds, some in excess of 70 mph, were seen from California to Utah and Wyoming as the jet stream disturbance dropped into the West. A dash of snow was seen in California's Sierra, but heavier snow fell in the Cascades and Utah's Wasatch. Almost 10 inches of snow had accumulated near Great Falls, Montana, and 20 to 25 inches of snow was estimated in the Bridger Range north of Bozeman. Around 76" of snow was reported in Alta, Utah. Thundersnow and snowfall rates up to 3 inches per hour were reported in South Dakota and western Nebraska. Blizzard and near-blizzard conditions occurred in eastern Colorado, much of Nebraska, much of South Dakota and parts of southwestern Minnesota. Blizzard warnings were issued for parts of six states: South Dakota, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and Minnesota. Several locations – including Imperial, Nebraska, near North Platte, Nebraska, Kit Carson, Colorado, and Goodland, Kansas – reported near-blizzard conditions in eastern Colorado, western Kansas, Nebraska, southern Minnesota and northwestern Iowa. Most major interstates and roads in South Dakota and western Nebraska were closed due to the conditions on Christmas. Interstate 70 in eastern Colorado and Interstate 80 in eastern Wyoming were also closed. Whiteout conditions and stranded motorists were reported early December 26 in northwestern Kansas. Note that all of these locations recorded visibility of one-quarter mile or less AND frequent wind gusts at or above 35 mph for at least three hours. The system began to move eastward yet again, getting to the Great Lakes on December 27. Highest totals from the snow here were around 10-12 inches, with whiteout conditions reported from Northern Indiana to Lansing, Michigan. I-69 in Fort Wayne was closed due to the combination of high winds and snow. Blizzard conditions were reported throughout Ohio and Ontario as well, where Ferus moved into on December 28, and then out of the United States. Aside of snow, major damage occurred with high winds, and also severe thunderstorms in the South, where around 7 tornadoes were reported in the South, the strongest of which being an EF3 tornado. Winter Storm Gabriel Winter Storm Hera Winter Storm Ilias Winter Storm Jacob Winter Storm Kayla Winter Storm Lexi Winter Storm Mars Winter Storm Nacio Winter Storm Olivia Winter Storm Petros Winter Storm Quo Winter Storm Regis Winter Storm Selene Winter Storm Troy Winter Storm Ursula Winter Storm Vexo Winter Storm Waylon Winter Storm Xenos Winter Storm Yolo Storm names This was the same list used in the 2015-16 season, minus the names Gabriel, Jacob, and Olivia, which replaced Goliath, Jonas, and Olympia after the major damages they caused. Names that were not retired were used again in 2027-28. Names in italics were not used during the course of the season. Retirement The names Delphi, Ferus, Petros, and Xenos were retired in the summer of 2022. They were replaced by Daniel, Finn, Paisley, and Xavier replaced the names for 2027-28.